Lesson A: PARTS of SPEECH REVIEW
PARTS OF SPEECH REFERENCE CHART
Part of Speech / Definition / ExampleNOUN / · Name of a person, place, thing (idea, activity, quality, virtue, etc). / · The wolf howled its message of freedom and fear in the early dawn.
PRONOUN / · Word that substitutes for a noun / · She saw him standing there.
ADJECTIVE / · A word that describes or limits a noun / · The small man made a big mistake
ARTICLE / · A kind of adjective used so often that it was given its own name. / · The students were instructed to sit at a table.
VERB / · An action word that makes an assertion about a noun or noun counterpart
· Some verbs express feelings or states of being
· Some verbs will have more than one word, or will have other words among their parts. / · The police car raced to catch the speeding van.
· She is a doctor; her husband is a nurse.
· He will have been at the college three years next March.
ADVERB / · Describes or limits a verb, an adjective, or another adverb / · Slowly, the very big elephant began to move.
PREPOSITION / · A “structure word” that governs a noun or pronoun, connecting it with another word or noun. / · They ran to the house from the car.
CONJUNCTION / · A joining word (may join two nouns, phrases, or clauses). / · The factories were closed and the downtown stores, which relied upon the income of the workers, suffered.
INTERJECTION / · An expression of feeling / · “O, wow!” he gasped when he saw his final mark
EXPLETIVE / · Word with no grammatical correlation / · It is raining heavily.
The man ran quickly into the brick wall, hit his head, and shouted “ow!”
Lesson B: VERBS - Subject-Verb Agreement
· A singular subject requires a singular verb.
§ Example: Kristen is from Hungary.
· A plural subject requires a plural verb.
§ Example: Her mother and father were born in Hungary.
· Collective nouns usually require a singular verb.
§ Example: My family is from Hungary.
Problems arise when singular verbs are given to plural subjects or vise versa:
WRONG Example: The captain of the teams collect the money.
WHY? The collection happens by the captain, not by the team.
Corrected: The captain of the team collects the money.
Lesson C: COMMAS
To confirm comma usage, refer to the following chart when writing. Use a comma:
· between items in a series of three or more, and one preceding and.
§ Example: Scott, Crawford, and Rogers are going.
· after an introductory group of several words.
§ Example: On the other hand, Stan Rogers may come along.
· to set off words that interrupt a flow of thought
§ Example: The Lord of the Rings, though set in an indefinite time period, tells a story that any generation would enjoy.
· to separate two complete sentences joined by and, but, or, yet, nor, so, or for.
§ Example: He said he would call, and he called by eight o’clock.
· to separate words or expressions that refer to the same person or thing.
§ Example: He George Costanza, a dweeb and a loser, is actually a character based on Larry David the show’s creator.
· to separate an incomplete sentence from the main clause that follows it.
§ Example: Although the Wii is merely a videogame system it still provides a great active experience.
· to precede “which”
§ Example: I really like these new pants, which I bought for only $15.
Lesson D: FIXING SENTENCES – Comma Splice Errors
A comma splice error occurs when two closely-related but independent sentences are joined by a comma.
§ Example: The house stood empty, no one bought it.
§ To correct comma splice errors, there are a few options:
§ 1: create two sentences.
§ Example: The house stood empty. No one bought it.
§ 2: rewrite the sentence using a comma and a conjunction (ie.“and”)
§ Example: The house stood empty, because no one bought it.
§ 3: use a semicolon to separate the two complete sentences.
§ Example: The house stood empty for months; no one bought it.
Lesson E: FIXING SENTENCES – Run-On Sentences
A run-on sentence has two or more complete thoughts or independent clauses, which run together without proper punctuation.
§ Example: We have only a day until the big dance I don’t have my dress yet and that will take a least a day.
§ To correct run-on sentences, there are few options:
§ 1: separate the long sentence into two longer sentences.
§ 2: rewrite the sentence using a comma and a conjunction (ie.“and”)
§ 3: use a semicolon to separate the two complete sentences.
Lesson F: FIXING SENTENCES – Sentence Fragments
A sentence fragment is an incomplete sentence. It can often seem like a heading.
§ Fragment:
§ Just before eating.
CORRECTED: Make a sentence:
§ Just before eating, he phoned his friend.
§ Fragment:
§ Her friend didn’t care. Leaving at a time she needed him.
CORRECTED: Make a sentence:
§ Her friend didn’t care, leaving at a time she needed him. OR
§ Her friend didn’t care, as he left at a time she needed him.
§ Fragment of starting a sentence with “which.”
§ The weather is bad. Which is why I’ll stay home.
CORRECTED: Make a sentence:
§ The weather is bad, which is why I’ll stay home.
Lesson G: PARTICIPLES & MODIFIERS Participle Phrases & Modifiers
Participle phrases begin with a present (-ing) or past (-ed) participle and can function as adjectives.
§ Examples: Reaching for a cookie, Martin spilled his glass of milk.
Damaged beyond repair, the ship sunk.
We MUST be careful about these, as they are often worded to create funny meanings:
PROBLEM: DANGLING MODIFIERS (words modify subjects that are not in the sentence)
WRONG: Sitting on the chair, my eyes began to ache.
IMPLIES: My eyes are sitting on the chair.
WRONG BC: WHO is sitting on the chair is not in the sentence
CORRECTED: As I sat on the chair, my eyes began to ache.
PROBLEM: MISPLACED MODIFIERS (it is unclear which words a modifier modifies)
WRONG: The jacket I tried on was just too small in the store.
IMPLIES: The jacket would fit if it weren’t in the store.
CORRECTED: The jacket I tried on in the store was just too small.
Lesson H: SINGULAR and PLURAL NOUNS
The chart shows how to change Singular Nouns (one) to Plural Nouns (more than one).
Noun / Plural Form / Example· Most nouns / Add –s / Ship > ships, nose > noses
· Nouns ending in a consonant and –y / Remove –y and add -ies / Sky > skies, navy > navies
· Nouns ending in –o / Add –es or –s / Hero > heroes, solo > solos
· Most nouns ending in –f or –fe / Change –f or –fe to –ves / Half > halves
· Most nouns ending in –ch,
- sh, -s, or –x / Add –es / Bench > benches, bush > bushes, loss > losses, tax > taxes
· Many two-word or three-word compound nouns / Add –s to the main word / Son-in-law > sons-in-law
· Nouns with the same form in singular and plural / No change / Sheep > sheep
· Nouns that are exceptions to the rules / Case-by-case / Woman > women
Lesson I: APOSTROPHES & POSSESSION
Apostrophes and Verbs
Some people use an apostrophe on all words ending in “s.” This practice is simply wrong.
· Apostrophes show ownership (The cat’s fur).
· Apostrophes contract words together (do not = don’t)
· THEY DO NOT EVER belong in verbs.
Wrong: Nothing last’s forever.Implies: Nothing last is forever.
Nothing belonging to last forever. / Right: Nothing lasts forever.
Apostrophes and Nouns
Not all nouns ending in “s,” need an apostrophe.
Example:
I have a boat.
Tom has two boats.
The boat’s sails are torn. (the sails belong to the boat)
The boats’ sails are torn. (the sails on my boat and Tom’s boat are torn = sails of boatS)
Wrong: Judith eats egg’s for breakfast.Implies: Judith eats egg is for breakfast.
Judith eats belonging to egg for breakfast. / Right: Judith eats eggs for breakfast.
Apostrophes and Family Names
A lot of people think it’s correct to use apostrophes to write their family names.
Example: Wrong: Do you know the Smith’s.
Implies: Do you know the Smith is / Do you know the belonging to Smith?
If the sentence indicates that the family owns something, use an apostrophe. Otherwise, don’t.
Example: Right: Do you know the Smiths?
Right: Are you living at the Smith’s home?
Lesson J: HOMONYMS
Homonyms
Definition: Words that SOUND the same but have different spellings and different meanings.
People TOO FREQUENTLY make homonym errors!
Pay attention! J LOOK:
Your joking that there pool is bigger then it’s picture shows.
Homonyms / Explained / ExampleA) Its vs. It’s / Its belonging to IT
It’s it is / The shoe is missing its shoelace.
It’s a nice day today.
B) Your vs. You’re / Your belonging to YOU
You’re you are / Have you sent your email?
You’re nice.
C) Then vs. Than / Then refers to time. Answers WHEN.
Than used in comparison. / Then we went to the movies.
The day is brighter than the night.
D) Their vs. They’re vs. There / Their belonging to THEM
They’re they are
There refers to place. Answers WHERE / Do you have their number?
They’re nice.
We went to the movies there.
E) Two vs. Too vs. To / Two a number. 2.
Too used to show extreme action or may replace “also.”
To used whenever Two or Too can’t be. / I’ll have two burgers.
She is too loud.
I’d like the salt, too.
I’d like to go to the store to buy a stamp so I can send the letter to my friend.
F) Lose vs Loose / Loose Not tight
Lose to not win / I will lose the game because my shoelaces are too loose.
G) We’re vs. Where vs. Were / We’re We are
Where Location
Were past of “are” / Where are we going?
We’re going to the store.
We were there.
We’re where? There.
Lesson K: CAPITAL LETTERS
Capitalization
Please pay attention to capitalization. You know the rules, but these you should review:
Capitalize the first word of a new sentence:
e.g. I like the beach. We go there regularly.
Capitalize proper nouns:
e.g. John goes to New York City every February.
Capitalize “I” (pen and paper don’t auto-correct):
e.g. I like cheese. I like bananas. I don’t like electricity.
Lesson L: COMMON MISSPELLINGS
Beginning vs. Beginning???
Commonly-misspelled words get to be a bit trying. Pay attention to these:
* be mindful of which one you intend.
IT IS… / NOT…Beginning / Beggining
Heroes / Heros
it’s (it is)* / Its (belonging to it)*
Definitely / Definately
Choose (present)* / Chose (past)*
Paid / Payed
Woman (singular)* / Women (plural)*
Aloud (out loud)* / Allowed (permitted)*
Should HAVE / Should of
Could HAVE / Could of
Would HAVE / Would of
A lot / Alot
Each other / Eachother
I saw the cat.
I have seen the cat. / I seen the cat.
ENG 2PI Grammar Lessons – Copies for Reference
Lesson A: PARTS of SPEECH REVIEW
PARTS OF SPEECH REFERENCE CHART
Part of Speech / Definition / ExampleNOUN / · Name of a person, place, thing (idea, activity, quality, virtue, etc). / · The wolf howled its message of freedom and fear in the early dawn.
PRONOUN / · Word that substitutes for a noun / · She saw him standing there.
ADJECTIVE / · A word that describes or limits a noun / · The small man made a big mistake
ARTICLE / · A kind of adjective used so often that it was given its own name. / · The students were instructed to sit at a table.
VERB / · An action word that makes an assertion about a noun or noun counterpart
· Some verbs express feelings or states of being
· Some verbs will have more than one word, or will have other words among their parts. / · The police car raced to catch the speeding van.
· She is a doctor; her husband is a nurse.
· He will have been at the college three years next March.
ADVERB / · Describes or limits a verb, an adjective, or another adverb / · Slowly, the very big elephant began to move.
PREPOSITION / · A “structure word” that governs a noun or pronoun, connecting it with another word or noun. / · They ran to the house from the car.
CONJUNCTION / · A joining word (may join two nouns, phrases, or clauses). / · The factories were closed and the downtown stores, which relied upon the income of the workers, suffered.
INTERJECTION / · An expression of feeling / · “O, wow!” he gasped when he saw his final mark
EXPLETIVE / · Word with no grammatical correlation / · It is raining heavily.
The man ran quickly into the brick wall, hit his head, and shouted “ow!”